FEARS OR THE HIGH GROUND?

                                      FEAR VS THE HIGH GROUND

                                            (For the local Newspaper)

   Once while walking across the bridge over the Yukon River in Whitehorse, when I was smack in the very center of the bridge, everything began to shake. It was an earthquake. The shaking hit so quickly that running seemed futile, let alone extremely difficult. The dam is only about four kilometers upstream from the bridge and the thought came to me, "Man, am I ever in a bad place if everything collapses!" 

 Our world appears to be teetering on the brink of political, social, economic, and even ecological catastrophe on a global scale. The likelihood of any of them triggering desperation and panic is a serious possibility. The pandemic gave us a glimpse of the gravity of the possible fallouts. The thing about fears is that they can produce in us a side that we did not know or even believe exists. The drive for self-preservation can be so strong that we can react in unimaginable ways. So what do we do?  Some fears are reasonable and even necessary, which is why we should be careful not to feed bears. There is however a point where, by fears, we can cross the line of reason and lob ourselves into foolish and dangerous situations. Fears out of control, which may even be valid, can prompt us into poor and irrational judgment, behavioral instability, and treacherous actions. Let's look at these a little closer: 

Poor and irrational judgment:  When fear is the driving force of our reasoning and reactions, our conclusions tends to flow from an emotional rather than a rational assessment. We are therefore more susceptible to embrace desperate quick fixes and faulty conclusions. 

Behavioral instability: Lifeguards occasionally have to deal with this when trying to rescue someone drowning. The panicking person can take the life of an attempting rescuer. Another example are mass panics during which people have been trampled to death.

Treacherous Actions: Fears can drive us to dread assumed threats to the point where we will betray even those dearest to us for fear they will endanger our security. This has been demonstrated in recent history more than once.

A SIDE POINT - The Well Concealed Snare: An effective hunting method used by many predators is to cause panic in their prey which will drive them into a snare laid out for them. Fears and panic make us easy prey for predators - just a thought.

 SO WHAT IS THE ANSWER?  FAITH - Faith in only ONE, the Lord Jesus Christ. As already stated, He conquered all our enemies, including death. Get yourself on solid and stable ground. Beware of the reliance on people to be your saviors. Here are some Bible verses that will help: The Lord is my Light and my Salvation, whom shall I fear? God is our Refuge and Strength, A very present Help in time of need. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Jesus said, "In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the WORLD." Throughout the Scriptures God says, "Fear not." Jesus is the Higher Ground we need to be standing on. Take courage, He is Risen!